HB 1435 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Student transfers; provide greater access to open enrollment and remove requirement for home district approval of release.

HB 1435 removes the requirement for a student's home school district to approve transfers, allowing students to move to another district with only the receiving district's board approval. It mandates that districts publish available transfer seats by school, disclose their selection processes, and prohibit denials based on disability. The bill also creates a state fund to cover the state portion of funding for transferred students and requires districts to report transfer data, including reasons for denials. The bill died in committee on March 4, 2025, and did not become law.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 7 edits

MODERATE

HB 1435 was amended from its Committee Substitute version to its version as passed by the House, introducing several substantive changes to student transfer policies. The most significant changes include adding a 60-day deadline for school boards to act on transfer requests, clarifying that decisions are binding for the entire school year, and shifting responsibility for student transportation to parents when districts do not agree to provide it. The bill also reduced the frequency of required capacity reporting from four times to twice per year and added a new requirement for a comprehensive peer review report on the bill's implementation.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new requirement for a comprehensive peer review report on the implementation of the act, and the applicability of transfer deadlines was clarified to cover both approved and denied decisions.

REQUIREMENT

School boards must now act on transfer requests within 60 days of receipt, with failure to act constituting approval.

Transfer decisions are now binding for the entire scholastic year in which they are made.

Responsibility for transporting transferred students shifts to parents or guardians when the transferee district does not agree to provide transportation.

The frequency of required capacity reporting was reduced from four times to twice per school year.

A new peer review report must be completed within one year of implementation to assess administration, demographics, fiscal impact, and policy transparency.

School districts now have sole discretion to determine which school within the district a transferred student will attend.

School boards must calculate enrollment capacity in their sole discretion rather than using mandatory core classroom size standards.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 13 edits

MAJOR

This bill significantly changes student transfer rules in Mississippi by removing the requirement for the original school district to consent to transfers, shifting final approval authority solely to the receiving district. It adds new provisions for sibling enrollment, athletic eligibility rules, and creates a new fund to help pay for transferring students. The bill also requires districts to publish available seats and transfer data, and establishes new funding mechanisms to support student portability.

Scope change

The bill expands student transfer rights by eliminating the original district's consent requirement and adding provisions for military families, employees of school districts, and siblings of transferred students.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement that the school board of the student's residence district must consent to student transfers

Required school districts to publish available transfer seats and capacity information on websites before school year starts

Required the State Department of Education to collect and publish student transfer data categorized by acceptance and denial reasons

Modified transfer process to require the transferring district to act on petitions within the next regular meeting, with failure to act constituting rejection

Modified athletic eligibility rules to allow one school per school year rather than mid-year restrictions

ELIGIBILITY

Added provisions allowing siblings of lawfully transferred students to enroll in the receiving district at parent discretion

Added athletic eligibility rules requiring determination by Mississippi High School Association rules based on fall semester enrollment

FISCAL

Created a new Student Portability and Open Enrollment Fund to cover state funding costs for transferring students

Added provision that unexpended amounts in the new fund shall not lapse into the State General Fund

DEFINITION

Added specific definition of 'sibling' to include biological, step, adopted, and foster children in the same household

EXEMPTIONS

Added exemption for military families and employees of school districts to transfer their dependent children

ENFORCEMENT

Added provisions prohibiting discrimination in transfer decisions based on ability, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, or socioeconomic status

TIMELINE

Added requirement for districts to report transfer data to state system at least four times during the school year

Floor votes · House Feb 6, 2025

How they voted

68–47

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 119

Feb 6, 2025

D Democratic39

5 Yea 34 Nay

87% Nay

I Independent2

1 Yea 1 Nay

50% Nay

R Republican78

62 Yea 12 Nay 4

79% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred To Education

upper

Feb 10, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed As Amended

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee Substitute Tabled

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

lower

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Education

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors